Henry Boot announces today that Hallam Land (Hallam) has completed the sale of 75 residential plots in Ambrosden, Oxfordshire and a further 290 residential plots in Sittingbourne, Kent to housebuilders Mulberry Homes and Taylor Wimpey, respectively.
The first transaction Hallam has completed is the €8.1m sale of a freehold site with planning permission for 75 homes in Ambrosden, Oxfordshire, to the housebuilder Mulberry Homes. The sale resulted in an ungeared internal rate of return for Henry Boot of 19% per annum.
Hallam acquired the site in 2014, before promoting the land through the planning process. In December 2023, an outline planning consent was secured for the homes as well as a 4.8-ha community woodland, local highway improvements and a children’s play area.
Hallam retains freehold ownership of an adjacent site totalling 8.3ha for future promotion through the planning process.
The sale of 290 residential plots has also been completed in Sittingbourne, Kent to national housebuilder Taylor Wimpey, which resulted in an ungeared internal rate of return for Henry Boot of 40% per annum.
In 2017, Hallam agreed a promotion agreement for the site before submitting an outline application in November 2022. Hallam successfully secured planning consent on an appealed decision in July 2024, following an initial refusal in 2022. The appeal was made on the basis that Swale Borough Council’s outdated development plan could not demonstrate a five-year housing land supply which in turn was failing to meet the area’s housing needs.
In addition to the 290 homes, of which 30% are affordable, the site also includes new landscaping, habitat creation, and publicly accessible green infrastructure, with a 100% Biodiversity Net Gain for surrounding habitats.
Tim Roberts, CEO at Henry Boot, commented: “Our latest residential plot sales to Mulberry Homes & Taylor Wimpey reaffirm the continued success of our land promotion business, benefitting from the government’s commitment to planning reform, as well as the ongoing appetite from national and regional housebuilders for well located, permitted land. The delivery of much-needed new homes across these regions, as well as the planning consent gained for significant green infrastructure and spaces, will transform the local area and community.”
A trading update for the twelve months ending 31 December 2024 is scheduled for release on Tuesday, 28 January 2025.
Image source - Henry Boot.
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